trainer, coach, spectator

Jim- My personal philosophy is what I heard once that Parenting is like baseball. When the kids are little you are the trainer, as they grow you become the coach. By the teenage years you are the manager, and when they get to the college years,(this is the hardest one) you have to be the spectator, The fan. Try to mix it up and you are asking for trouble.

risk

"To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk being called sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self. To place your ideas and your dreams before them is to risk being called naive. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure.But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing. He [or she] may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave, he’s forfeited his freedom.Only the person who risks is truly free.”

love

“Love is the only bow of life's dark cloud. It is the Morning and Evening Star. It shines upon the cradle of the babe, and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb. It is the Mother of Art, inspirer of poet, patriot, and philosopher. It is the air and light of every heart, builder of every home, kinder of every fire on every hearth, It was the first dream of immortality. It fills the world with melody. Love is the magician, the enchanter, that changes worthless things to joy, and makes right royal kings of common clay.” -Robert Green Ingersoll

beautiful people

meadowrose- "Beautiful people do not just happen...The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern...Beautiful people do not just happen..." ~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross

old days

Kathy- I am a young child of the old days. My Bisbee roots wrap for 367 years between the cracks in New England rock walls, dig deep into the soil of the Western foothills and remote woods of Maine, and the sweet sap of my ancestors lifeblood runs through rusty taps in ancient maples.
My mother's herstory (The Harts) runs right up through the hollows of West Virginia's mountains, into coal mining towns and out of poverty, from the border of France and Germany to Scotland and Ireland. When I visit these places, I feel their presence. Their memories, like mine, are planted in the soil, deep under the frost of winter, the mud of summer and the leaves of fall. It's my challenge to dig deep and find their stories.
I enjoy studying the past, the present, to be guided into the future by my ancestors. --Kathy Bisbee

strength & courage

Janice- It takes strength to be firm,It takes courage to be gentle. *It takes strength to stand guard,It takes courage to let down your guard. *It takes strength to conquer,It takes courage to surrender. *It takes strength to be certain,It takes courage to have doubt. *It takes strength to fit in,It takes courage to stand out. *It takes strength to feel a friend's pain,It takes courage to feel your own pain. *It takes strength to hide your own pains,It takes courage to show them. *It takes strength to endure abuse,It takes courage to stop it. *It takes strength to stand alone,It takes courage to lean on another. *It takes strength to love,It takes courage to be loved.*
It takes strength to survive,It takes courage to live

caregiver

june- caregiver bill of rights *You Have The Right To Take Care Of Yourself: eat right, exercise regularly, and get enough rest. *You Have The Right To Have Mixed Emotions: happy, sad, frustrated, guilty, afraid, thankful. *You Have The Right To Have Solitude: for planning, thinking, reflections, introspection, prayer, and relaxation. *You Have The Right Not To Accept some or all of your party invitations. *You Have The Right To Ask For Help And Support from friends, family, your church/synagogue/mosque and community. *You Have The Right To Give gifts that are within your holiday budget. *You Have The Right To Say No to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and a second piece of pie. *You Have The Right To Not to ride with a drunk driver. *You Have The Right To take away the keys of a drunk friend or relative who wants to drive, and to call a taxi. *You Have The Right To Smile at harassed salesclerks and angry drivers, and to give them a peace of your mind.

children

Chloe- do no harm · Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again...And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michaelangelo, a Beethoveen. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work -- we must all work -- to make the world worthy of its children. ~ Pablo Casals, Spanish Cellist

winters gift

by Justice- Snow falls~ in a hushed silence~ that envelopes the senses.~ The stars glitter tonight,~ with the brilliance~ of a thousand diamonds.~ I am but a humble observer of all the majesty~ that nature has chosen~ to bestow upon me.~ I live for moments such as this.~ From the warmth~ of my window~ the scene outside~ is breathtakingly beautiful.~ And I file away the photograph~ that my mind has taken forever to treasure~ and enjoy it time and time again~ in the future, long after this~ vision has faded with the changing seasons.~ I turn and pause in the glow of the fireplace lit room,~ and I reach out with my heart~ and embrace this moment that has been given to me,~ to cherish and to keep.~ This peaceful winter's evening~ and it's soothing tranquility,~ belong to me.~ Long after winter has gone this memory will remain.~ Winter's gift and my photograph. ~copyright 2007 Justice Grey

strong

Claudette- They take my kindness for weakness. They take my silence for speechless. *They consider my uniqueness strange. They call my language slang. *They see my confidence as conceit. They see my mistakes as defeat. *They consider my success accidental. They minimize my intelligence to "potential." *My questions mean, "I'm unaware." My advancement is somehow unfair. *Any praise is preferential treatment. To voice concern is discontentment. *If I stand up for myself, I'm too defensive. If I don't trust them, I'm too apprehensive. *I'm defiant if I separate. Yet, I'm fake if I assimilate. *So, constantly I am faced with work place hate.

My character is constantly under attack. Pride for my race makes me, "too black." Yet, I can only be me. And who am I you might ask? I am that Strong Black Person...Who stands on the backs of my ancestors. Achievements, with an erect spine pointing to the stars with Pride, Dignity, and Respect. Letting the American work place know, that I not only possess the ability to play by the rules but, I can make them as well! ~Black History 365

optimism

Bev- "No pessimest ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an unchartered land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." Helen Keller. "The pessimist in all of us is just the fear of venturing into the unknown. The fear of venturing into the unknown is what keeps us from the optimism of our dreams we once held close".

serenity prayer

meadowrose- God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,enjoying one moment at a time,accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is,not as I would have it; Trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life,and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen. ~Reinhold Niebuhr

catty

Kathy- But why is there cattiness? I think there is dynamic in our culture that pits women against one another. Because we are treated as sexual beings, by men, women and our society, it becomes a game that if we don't play, we get left out. I grew up a total tomboy, confident, physcial, sure of myself, isolated from discrimination of all kinds. I didn't even know that I was different or going to get treated differently than boys. It was huge awakening and very hard when women started telling me I needed to do this and that to be a "woman" (don't take big steps, shave your legs, wear makeup and skirts, act more passively around men, don't show that you're interested in sex, be more gentle, don't speak up). I felt betrayed. And, since I wanted to do certain things in the world, I had to learn how to be like men. They still run the world.

I think you do have to be tough, but you cannot lose your humanity or your femininity either. I always try to find women to support, both in more senior positions than me and more junior. We have to be honest about our challenges and stop acting like we can do it all, career, mom, hot sex, up-to-date, caretaking everyone and also be a great cook...It's hard (sometimes maybe worse than what women had to do in the 1950's!) and we need to support each other to create our own networks, make our way as women in leadership positions and try to be in balance.

It's always interesting when I find myself looking for the next step in my career. When I reach out to my entire network, it's always the men who offer to connect me to potential jobs and people, and the women are the ones who call to see how I am feeling.

We women need to be as good at generating support for each other as we are at caring for each other.

garden

Janice~ How To Plant Your Garden- First, you Come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses....

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,

PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:
1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love. There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.

stress less

janice- 1.not too sensitive 2.not doubt self 3.be selfish enough 4.express self 5.empathy- don't fix it 6.prove worth not worth it 7.respect differences 8.share-get involved

sometimes god

mark- ...breaks our spirit TO SAVE our soul...breaks our heart to make us WHOLE...sends us pain so we can be STRONGER...sends us failure so we can be HUMBLE...sends us illness so we can take better CARE of ourselves...takes everything away from us so we can LEARN the value of everything HE gave us.

healing prayer

Jenaka- Mother, sing me a song That will ease my pain, Mend broken bones, Bring wholeness again. Catch my babies When they are born, Sing my death song, Teach me how to mourn. Show me the Medicine Of the healing herbs, The value of spirit, The way I can serve. Mother, heal my heartSo that I can seeThe gifts of yoursThat can live through me.

think

Earl Rudolfo- Traits of a Good Thinker · 11 Specific thinking skills: (from Thinking for a Change)1) Seeing the Wisdon of Big-Picture Thinking2) Unleashing the Potential of Focused Thinking3) Discovering the Joy of Creative Thinking4) Recognizing the Importance of Realistic Thinking5) Releasing the Power of Strategic Thinking6) Feeling the Energy of Possibility Thinking7) Embracing the Lessons of Reflective Thinking8) Questioning the Acceptance of Popular Thinking9) Encouraging the Participation of Shared Thinking10) Experiencing the Satisfaction of Unselfish Thinking11) Enjoying the Return of Bottom-Line Thinking

scent

Deb- turkey being roasted at Thanksgiving, the pine smell of a Douglas Fir christmas tree, the smell of a baby's neck when you nestle your nose against them to kiss them, the smell of the seashore, cinnamon boiling on the stove or apple pie baking in the oven, onions frying when Mom's cooking supper, steak cooking on the grill, Red Door perfume, fresh laundry that has been dried on the clothesline, baby powder, dial soap,coconut, new schoolbooks,leaves burning, fresh cut grass, wild honeysuckle, lilacs, vanilla, fresh peeled

commonalities

Sayid- "I personally find it much more beneficial to focus on why you are (what you are) instead of why you are not".

Chloe "...Clearly I'm not Christian and could I make a list of why I'm not? Absolutely! But it gives me greater peace to focus on commonalities; to see that even though others (even those under the same faith umbrella) are on different paths the majority of us are seeking similar things when we choose to believe in something greater than ourselves...."